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Lot Essay
This desk is a fine example of sophisticated Federal furniture produced in Boston in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
John Seymour and his son Thomas emigrated from England to Portland, Maine in 1785, moving to Boston in 1794. These eminent Boston cabinetmakers seamlessly integrated materials, pattern and meticulous workmanship creating beautiful forms. They introduced to Boston the refinement of English standards of craftsmanship, veneer use and neoclassical design.
This form of desk has traditionally been associated with the Seymours. A similar example is illustrated in Stoneman, John and Thomas Seymour: Cabinetmakers in Boston, 1794-1816 (Boston, 1959), pp. 130, fig. 64. Though the illustrated example has a bookcase top, its lower section is remarkably similar to the example offered here. In overall form and proportion, as well as drawer arrangement and the turned and reeded legs with tapering feet, this desk is in keeping with others which are considered typical of the Seymour shop. A similar desk, sold in these Rooms, 12 October 2001, lot 148.
The inscription on the lowermost drawer, "Comadre Hull," may refer to Commodore Isaac Hull (1798-1843) who was in command of the USS Constitution during the engagement with the British ship, the HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812. It was during this battle, in which the USS Constitution remained unscathed that she earned the nickname, "Old Ironsides."
John Seymour and his son Thomas emigrated from England to Portland, Maine in 1785, moving to Boston in 1794. These eminent Boston cabinetmakers seamlessly integrated materials, pattern and meticulous workmanship creating beautiful forms. They introduced to Boston the refinement of English standards of craftsmanship, veneer use and neoclassical design.
This form of desk has traditionally been associated with the Seymours. A similar example is illustrated in Stoneman, John and Thomas Seymour: Cabinetmakers in Boston, 1794-1816 (Boston, 1959), pp. 130, fig. 64. Though the illustrated example has a bookcase top, its lower section is remarkably similar to the example offered here. In overall form and proportion, as well as drawer arrangement and the turned and reeded legs with tapering feet, this desk is in keeping with others which are considered typical of the Seymour shop. A similar desk, sold in these Rooms, 12 October 2001, lot 148.
The inscription on the lowermost drawer, "Comadre Hull," may refer to Commodore Isaac Hull (1798-1843) who was in command of the USS Constitution during the engagement with the British ship, the HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812. It was during this battle, in which the USS Constitution remained unscathed that she earned the nickname, "Old Ironsides."